Hello, Arsians! Last year we partnered with IBM to host a physical event in the Houston area where we all got together, had cocktails, and talked about resilience and the future of IT. Location is always important for these kinds of things, so we hosted it at Space Center Houston and drank our cocktails among cool space artifacts. Besides learning a bunch of cool stuff, it was great to hang out with all the awesome people who showed up for the event. We had a blast!
This year we are working with IBM again and we want to repeat that success with not one, but two personal gatherings, each with a series of expert panel discussions and ending with a happy hour to hang out and mingle. Where we went downtown last time, this time we’re heading to the coast, both east and west. Read on to find out more!
September: San Jose, California
Our first event will be held in San Jose on September 18th and is titled “Beyond the Buzz: An Infrastructure Future with GenAI and What Comes Next.” The idea is to explore what generative AI means for the future of data management. The topics we will discuss include:
- Playing the infrastructure long term to handle any kind of workload
- Identifying infrastructure vulnerabilities with today's AI tools
- The Ecological Footprint of Infrastructure: Navigating Impacts and Responsibilities
We've now locked in our panelists, and while I can't name names, many of them will be familiar to Ars readers from previous events or from the front page.
As a nice bonus, we're going to hold the event at the Computer History Museum, which any Bay Area Ars reader can attest to as being an incredibly cool venue. (We're not spilling anything, though. I bet they'd throw us out if we messed up an exhibit!)
October: Washington, DC
Switching coasts, on October 29th, we’ll be setting up camp in our nation’s capital for a similar show. This time around, the title of our event is “AI in DC: Privacy, Compliance, and Making Infrastructure Smarter.” Since we’ll be in DC, the tone is shifting a bit toward more policy-focused discussions, and the talk lineup is as follows:
- The Key to Emerging Technology Compliance
- Data Security in the Age of AI-Enabled Cyber Espionage
- The best infrastructure solution for your AI/ML strategy
The same goes for the speakers as for the September edition: I can't name names yet, but the list will be familiar to Ars readers and I'm excited. We're still considering locations, but hope to find something that matches our previous events in terms of style and coolness.
Interested in participating?
While it would be great if everyone could come, the old adage applies: space will, as they say, be limited at both locations. We want to ensure that locals at both locations are given priority to attend, so we’re asking anyone wanting a ticket to register for the events on the registration pages below. You should receive an email immediately confirming that we’ve received your details, and we’ll send you another message in a couple of weeks with more information on timings and attendance.
On the Ars side, at a minimum our EIC Ken Fisher and I will be at both events, and we'll likely have some other Ars staff show up where we can – free drinks are a strong lure for the weary tech journalist, so we should have at least a few of them showing up at both events. I hope to see you all there!
